Chapter 57: Sea Without Light 57
“Good morning, Kui Xin.” Jiang Ming yawned. “It’s rare that Lan Lan isn’t the last to arrive.”
“Morning, Kui Xin.” Liu Kangyun looked up from behind his desk. “I can’t believe Lan Lan actually showed up on time today.”
Xueyao Shu stood by the coffee machine, holding a cup. “Would you like some coffee to wake you up?”
“Good morning, everyone.” Kui Xin sat down at her desk. “Could you please get me a cup of coffee, Captain?”
“My home is too far away; I had to run to catch the earliest Hover Tram,” Lan Lan said. “I’ll take some coffee too, Captain.”
Xueyao Shu prepared a cup of coffee for everyone and brought it to them.
“It’s not easy sleeping during the day and working at night,” he handed the coffee to Kui Xin. “Have you adjusted your schedule?”
“Sort of. I slept until three in the afternoon yesterday, then I went to sleep again around midnight,” Kui Xin blew on her steaming coffee. “I feel okay today.”
“Young people really have it good. I feel like my health has been declining towards middle age over the past two years, and I occasionally have back pain,” Jiang Ming complained. “When I just graduated, I was in peak shape; I could stay up all night without any worries.”
“Aren’t you only twenty-six?” Xueyao Shu said helplessly. “That’s hardly middle-aged!”
“Excessive fatigue can accelerate aging, not to mention that we security officers often get injured,” Lan Lan said. “You can’t see it on the surface of our bodies, but every injury consumes our health.”
“Yeah, if it’s not a particularly severe injury, the Investigation Bureau won’t give out accelerated healing potions. Occasionally, it’s not a big deal, but long term, it can really drain your health,” Liu Kangyun said. “I hope Kui Xin’s extraordinary abilities don’t have similar side effects.”
“I’m not sure if they do,” Kui Xin responded. “I can only use them and observe. Getting hurt feels really painful; I hope I never have the opportunity to study my extraordinary abilities.”
Jiang Ming rubbed his chin. “After you developed such a super self-healing ability, would you still catch colds or fevers? Would those minor ailments heal quickly after you catch them?”
Kui Xin replied, “That depends on whether my self-healing ability can boost my immunity.”
“If that’s the case, then Kui Xin’s extraordinary abilities would be too unreasonable,” Liu Kangyun said. “I can’t imagine how they’ll change as you level up.”
Retracing time, would past experiences repeat themselves?
In the past, Kui Xin was very curious about this question; now, she had her answer.
Humans are changeable, and the trajectory of fate is also variable.
Last time, on the morning of August 5th, when she went to the Coastal Security Office for her day shift, she arrived at her workplace before 7:30, half an hour ahead of schedule, and did not encounter Lan Lan on the way.
This time, on August 5th, Kui Xin had a rough night due to a dream and got up a bit later, arriving just before 8. As she reached the entrance, she ran into Lan Lan.
After arriving at the office, the topic of conversation among her teammates had changed.
They had originally discussed work arrangements, but now they were talking about other things.
This was a small change brought about by tiny actions; the butterfly effect is precisely what this is. Kui Xin’s trajectory would bring unknown changes to the future.
Patrol time was approaching, and today another team was sitting in the office. The entire Seventh Squad was responsible for street patrol.
They went to the equipment room to change gear, grabbed their weapons, and split into two groups, with one group riding motorcycles and the other walking the streets.
Last time on August 5th, Kui Xin had patrolled on a motorcycle with Xueyao Shu; this time she wanted to do something different. So she said, “I’d like to handle the street patrol; riding the motorcycle feels a bit uncomfortable…”
The personnel assigned to the patrol groups change every day, and Kui Xin’s request was easily accommodated.
After a brief thought, Xueyao Shu said, “Alright, Jiang Ming, Kui Xin, and I will go together. Lan Lan, you and Liu Kangyun take the motorcycles.”
“No problem.” Lan Lan put on her helmet and hopped on the motorcycle, giving a thumbs up to Xueyao Shu.
After the patrol assignments were done, Lan Lan and Liu Kangyun rode off on the motorcycle, while Kui Xin and the others followed their usual patrol route on foot.
“Crime has been decreasing these days,” Jiang Ming muttered. “It’s not as busy as before; incidents aren’t as frequent… It’s a bit unsettling.”
“Perhaps it’s because they know there’s a new face among the coastal security officers who’s not easy to mess with,” Xueyao Shu glanced at Kui Xin. “When you weren’t around, the night team on duty last night told me they caught a thief breaking in through a window around midnight. The thief immediately squatted down and covered his head when he saw them, scared of getting shot. During the interrogation, they learned that the thief had heard his companions discussing the new security officer at the port, saying she was particularly skilled with a gun and quite ruthless. When faced with her, it’s best to surrender; otherwise, you’ll end up with a hole in your head…”
Jiang Ming laughed heartily. “You’ve made quite a name for yourself, Kui Xin! The rats hiding in the dark are all afraid of you.”
Kui Xin thought for a moment, “It seems I need to be careful; such a reputation can easily make me a target, attracting hate, and it’s hard to guarantee that no one will resent me in the future.”
“Indeed… this place is too chaotic,” Jiang Ming said. “I can confidently say that the Harbor Zone is the most unruly area in Hei Hai City, even more chaotic than the slums.”
“After all, it’s the area closest to the port,” Xueyao Shu said.
“Since I started this job, I’ve been on high alert every day. Sometimes when I go home, I’m very cautious, even going out of my way to avoid being followed,” Kui Xin said. “I’ve seen how brutal the port gangs can be; they kill without blinking.”
Xueyao Shu said, “It’s understandable that Kui Xin would be so careful. To give you a more extreme example, there has been an incident in the past where gang members attempted to use a human bomb to attack security officers. Although it was resolved, it undoubtedly sounded the alarm for us.”
“There were incidents like that…” Kui Xin said softly.
“There’s still a lot you need to learn. Once the situation calms down a bit, we old-timers will slowly teach you,” Xueyao Shu said. “You’re very mature in your actions; sometimes I forget you’re still a newcomer just starting out. I might not be taking care of you as well as I should… If you have any doubts, just ask, we’ll explain anything we know.”
Jiang Ming agreed. “I agree. Remember to ask questions, Kui Xin. Asking questions isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
“Yeah, I know,” Kui Xin replied. “I actually have a question I’d like to ask.”
“Go ahead,” Xueyao Shu shifted his gaze slightly.
“I’ve been in the Investigation Bureau for a while now, but I’ve barely seen the Minister and Deputy Minister around,” Kui Xin wondered. “In my mind, they’re quite mysterious.”
The records of Mechanized Dawn only contained their names and limited information that was publicly released online.
The Minister of the Investigation Bureau is a nearly sixty-year-old woman who has wielded power for decades and is approaching retirement. The Deputy Minister, however, is a young man in his thirties—young but in a high position, probably someone quite remarkable.
Kui Xin had only heard the Deputy Minister’s voice in the communications channel when retreating from the Kraken.
“The Minister has been in meetings at headquarters and isn’t at the Investigation Bureau in Hei Hai City,” Jiang Ming explained. “As for the Deputy Minister, he often travels; he should be back in a few days. We have a regular monthly meeting where he will speak, and you’ll see him then. About the Minister… there are rumors that she’s busy with retirement handover matters. The typical retirement age for security officers is forty-five; because of the dangers we face, our health deteriorates, so it’s moved up. However, the Minister has insisted on working until fifty—she’s quite impressive.”
“Will we have a new leader in the future?” Kui Xin asked. “If she retires, who will take her place? The Deputy Minister?”
“The Deputy Minister is too young; it’s possible someone from headquarters will be appointed directly as the Minister in Hei Hai City, or someone might be promoted from the current leadership in the Investigation Bureau… Until the candidates are announced, nothing is certain,” Jiang Ming said at length. “Ms. Wei Zhi, leader of our field operations team, is of the right age, very experienced, and has a good chance of becoming the Minister.”
“I thought promotions were done step by step? The Deputy Minister is a higher rank than the Team Leader, how would she get promoted?” Kui Xin pressed.
“The Investigation Bureau is actually a tough job, doing all the dirty and exhausting work,” Xueyao Shu glanced at Kui Xin. “Truly ambitious and capable individuals wouldn’t want to stay in the Investigation Bureau for long. It’s a political stepping stone for people to reach the higher echelons of the government; the experience here adds a brilliant mark to their resumes.”
“Hey, why are you just saying this out loud? Isn’t this something that newcomers should figure out on their own over time?” Jiang Ming stared at Xueyao Shu in shock. “When I first started, no one was kind enough to explain all this to me—I figured it out on my own later… When the Deputy Minister took office, the factions in the Investigation Bureau were reshuffled; Awakened and elite teams began to take sides. As a rookie, I was clueless and almost got into big trouble.”
Kui Xin raised an eyebrow. “That’s just your bad luck, Jiang. You started when you didn’t encounter a good captain who genuinely cared for the team members.” She turned to Xueyao Shu and said, “Thank you, Captain!”
“No, there’s no need to thank me. I don’t want you to pay a high price to understand something that could be explained in one sentence,” Xueyao Shu said gently.
“It would have been nice if someone had pointed me in the right direction back then.” Jiang Ming chuckled as he scratched his head. “I used to think it was enough to just focus on tasks and work.”
“But this world is too complex. To survive, you need to learn a lot more, even things you don’t want to learn,” Xueyao Shu said.
Kui Xin sighed. “I can relate to that.”
They reached a junction for the patrol. A few days ago, they would have followed Adam’s planned route, but today Kui Xin wanted to explore a different path.
She suggested, “We’ve been taking this route for the past few days. I think we should change it up to prevent those gang members from noticing our habits and deliberately avoiding us.”
“That makes a lot of sense; your suggestion is noted,” Adam said. “A new route has been planned, and you can patrol according to this route.”
The visor on her helmet showed a new map, with a green dotted line indicating the patrol route.
The three of them headed along the new route.
Standing at the patrol junction, Kui Xin felt like she was at a crossroads of fate.
Choosing different paths would lead to different developments. She already knew the outcome of one path, so she would do her best to explore another path, one that leads to survival.
“This is the Coastal Security Office. Seventh Squad, please be advised that a violent incident has occurred at a restaurant two hundred meters away from you. Please respond quickly. Caution: the suspect may be armed with a hot weapon.”
“Received.” Xueyao Shu signaled to Kui Xin and Jiang Ming.
They drew their weapons and ran toward the destination as fast as they could.
……
“I think we should leave quickly; it’ll be a hassle once the security officers arrive…” Silverface said gloomily.
He looked regretfully at the overturned plate of noodles covered in meat sauce on the ground, momentarily tempted to pick it up and eat it.
They had spent the entire night installing explosives and hadn’t eaten, and by morning they were starving, leading them to a nearby restaurant for food.
However, some punks sitting in the restaurant didn’t have the sense to back off when Thorn Rose was there. Thorn Rose, unable to tolerate any disrespect, immediately pulled out her gun and took out several of the punks. The restaurant owner, sensing the trouble, hit the alarm and fled through the back door.
“Their work efficiency has always been low,” Thorn Rose angrily shoved her gun back into her waistband.
Only a few seconds had passed since the alarm rang, but they didn’t dare delay. After confirming they hadn’t left too much evidence, they were about to leave.
Then they crossed paths with Kui Xin and her group, who were patrolling.
“Ah.” Silverface froze.
He sluggishly thought that Thorn Rose had no idea who Kui Xin was specifically, nor did she know she worked for the Coastal Security Team.
Thorn Rose’s expression darkened as she pulled out her gun. Kui Xin also glared and raised her gun.
Silverface:……
Silverface began to feel afraid.
